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 Memories of Merelbeke - een randgemeente van Gent

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Category Albums Files
Belgium 1970s
7 256
MERELBEKE


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We lived in Belgium in the 1970s. Dad, Eric Hayles was working for Volvo Europa at Oostakker near Ghent and we moved into a house in the Verlorenbroodstraat in Merelbeke. We hope you enjoy our evocative photos of life in Merelbeke, a suburb of Ghent.

56 files, last one added on Oct 27, 2014
Album viewed 2158 times

GHENT/GENT BELGIUM


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We lived near the beautiful city of Ghent (Gent) in Belgium in East Flanders (Oost Vlaanderen) from 1974 till 1978, although dad was there for about another six years after that. We hope you enjoy some of our photo archive from those happy times.

48 files, last one added on Oct 27, 2014
Album viewed 741 times

MERELBEKE FRIENDS AND NEIGHBOURS


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Some of our wonderful neighbours and friends when we lived in Merelbeke. If you know any names that we haven't mentioned, please add them below the photo.

109 files, last one added on Oct 27, 2014
Album viewed 978 times

DANSCLUB TERPSICHORE MERELBEKE


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Mum and dad had dancing lessons at the Dansclub Terpsichore in Hundelgemsesteenweg in 1977-78. These are pictures from one of their social functions.

15 files, last one added on Mar 15, 2014
Album viewed 775 times

OUT AND ABOUT IN BELGIUM


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13 files, last one added on Mar 23, 2014
Album viewed 724 times

Our Welsh friends, the Davies Family


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We attended church at the Evangelisch Centruum, Burgstraat, Gent, where we got to know the wonderful Davies family from Wales (the clue was in the name!) Charles and Betty, Godfrey, Joseph and Noel. There were also two sisters who weren't in Belgium. Charles was an accomplished artists and signwriter. He once had a job painting the Coca Cola logo on lorries, so he must have been very good! He also painted a sign for our neighbours opposite which read "Bobinage van motoren".

11 files, last one added on Apr 26, 2014
Album viewed 641 times

Documentation


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Leaflets and other documentation from our time in Belgium

4 files, last one added on Dec 05, 2017
Album viewed 419 times

 

7 albums on 1 page(s)

Belgium 1990s
1 40
VISITS TO MERELBEKE IN 1990s


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In the 1990s, along came the internet. Jonathan put "Merelbeke" into a search engine to see what he would see, and stumbled across the website of Sint-Michielsschool. After writing a greeting in the guest book he received a reply from Guy van Heddegem, and a friendship developed which led to Jonathan visiting Merelbeke in 1998 and writing a song which was performed at the school's Eindejaarshow. He visited again the following year. Here are some pictures from those shows.... we hope to bring you some video clips in the future too. Photos mostly by Jonathan Hayles, captions by Guy van Heddegem.

40 files, last one added on Mar 16, 2014
Album viewed 641 times

 

1 albums on 1 page(s)

296 files in 8 albums and 2 categories with 5 comments viewed 250,277 times

Last additions
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GITO Merelbeke flyer van 1975 4/44633 viewsDec 05, 2017
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GITO Merelbeke flyer van 1975 3/44411 viewsDec 05, 2017
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1/41199 viewsDec 05, 2017
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GITO Merelbeke leaflet from 1975 2/4849 viewsGITO Merelbeke flyer van 1975Dec 05, 2017
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Cards at Number 311034 viewsOct 27, 2014
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Wilfried at his mother's in Moortsele1184 viewsOct 27, 2014
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Wilfried's mother in Moortsele1105 viewsOct 27, 2014
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Wilfried and Lydiane at Wilfried's mother's in Moortsele1112 viewsOct 27, 2014
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Tram near the Gravensteen in Ghent, 19781671 viewsOct 27, 2014
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Wilfried adds the finishing touches to his villa1077 viewsOct 27, 2014
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Lydiane makes sure Wilfried is doing things properly1076 viewsOct 27, 2014
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Wilfried adds the finishing touches to his villa1064 viewsOct 27, 2014

Random files
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Ghent by night by Eric Hayles1045 viewsEarly 1980s
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Our Merelbeke home starts arriving back in England.....1090 views.... on the roof of dad's VW Transporter minibus.
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Jonathan, Lydiane and Wilfried in Numer 29550 views
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Foundations of 31 Verlorenbrooadstraat1306 viewsWilfried de Moor was building a villa. Josh spent many happy days helping out.
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Sint-Michielsschool 1999474 views
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Sint-Michielsschool Eindjaarshow 1998455 views
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Volvo colleagues in Ghent735 viewsDad (on the right) with a colleague from Volvo Europa.
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Josh Verlorenbroodstraat Merelbeke 19751100 views
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Party time at Dansclub Terpsichore Merelbeke431 views
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Ringvaart Merelbeke 19751149 views
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Boer en ploegpaard1 - Merelbeke farmer 1975928 views
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Skating on ice on a small brook next to the Watersportsbaan in Ghent.725 viewsThe Hayles brothers, December 1975